


in which two people are, frankly, gross

by starblessed



Category: The Princess Diaries - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 22:52:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15616794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starblessed/pseuds/starblessed
Summary: Mia doesn’t know what she expected; but Nicholas stretched out on the bed, lanky legs clothed in black slacks and a half-buttoned blue shirt, is unsurprising. More of a shock is his stare. Piercing eyes bore into her, the sharp gaze of a predator. He is a panther with prey caught in its sights. Shards of ice dig into Mia’s skin, making her chest tight and face warm.“I’m sorry,” she says. “Did you need something, or are you just enjoying the view?”Nicholas inclines his head. “Can I say both?”





	in which two people are, frankly, gross

It doesn’t occur to her that she might have done anything wrong until she feels eyes on the back of her head.

For a long time, Mia is able to ignore it. She’s immersed enough in her work — reviewing a land dispute concerning oil reserves near Genovia’s southern border — that its easy for everything else to take a back seat. When it comes to complex legal issues, Mia is on less steady ground than diplomacy or hands-on altruism. It requires all of her focus, and most of her brainpower. (There’s a reason she goes to Nicholas to consult on cases like this; he’s got a far better legal mind, and a talent for arguing. Had he been born to any other family, he’d have made a _great_ lawyer.)

The thought that _Nicholas would understand this so much better_ is what drags her back — to the world outside the paperwork, and the stare boring into the back of her head. Mia sits up. One hand slowly runs through her hair. She chews her gum once, twice, relishing the sweet combined tang of mint and pears across her tongue. (Anyone who thinks they wouldn't make a good combination has never tasted Genovian pears.) Slowly, she spins around in her chair to face him.

Mia doesn’t know what she expected; but Nicholas stretched out on the bed, lanky legs clothed in black slacks and a half-buttoned blue shirt, is unsurprising. More of a shock is his stare. Piercing eyes bore into her, the sharp gaze of a predator. He is a panther with prey caught in its sights. Shards of ice dig into Mia’s skin, making her chest tight and face warm.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “Did you need something, or are you just enjoying the view?”

Nicholas inclines his head. “Can I say both?”

“You could. That’s cheating, though.” Mia sits up straighter. _“What?”_

Rather than look daunted, there’s wicked amusement in Nicholas’s gaze. He’s found a challenge, and is delighted by it. Mia just wishes she knew what the challenge _was_.

With slow, languid movements, he hauls himself off the bed. Legs first, slinging over the side; then he’s on his feet, fluid grace matched with a predator’s gait. He creeps up step by step, letting her observe each twitch of limb. Those sharp eyes stay trained in place. Is he... _stalking_ her?

“You realize what you’ve done, don’t you?”

“Not much for the oil reserves,” Mia retorts, half-heartedly flapping a paper on her desk. “Could you... take a look?”

The gum is burning in her mouth. It sears her lips and chills her teeth. She can’t remember the taste being this strong moments ago. Perhaps it’s sheer proximity. Nicholas is close enough to touch, and he does — reaching out, a hand settles on her shoulder, while the other cups the back of her neck.

“We can look at that later. The oil fields aren’t going to get up and walk away.”

“You never know,” says Mia.

“No,” Nicholas agrees. “We don’t.”

He is close enough that she can feel his breath against her lips. For a moment, there is nothing else; only the impossible blue of his eyes, the searing heat of his skin, the way he draws the entire world into his personal orbit and masters it all. She doesn’t dare close her eyes. If she did, she is certain he’d be gone when she opened them.

“I—“ Mia’s hand spasms in an overwhelmed reflex. The empty pack of gum flutters to the floor. Until now, she hasn’t realized she took the last piece.

“You don’t need to talk,” Nicholas whispers. “But if you really must —“

And just to make talking, along with everything else, _completely irrelevant_ — he closes the distance between them.

Mia’s mouth is captured by his own, and in a second she is sucked in. Her hand finds the back of Nicholas’s head. She presses into him, exploring the curves and subtleties of his lips, the tenderness of his mouth against her own. His lips are on fire. Maybe that is her own body, warning her that she is overheating, they are heading straight for the sun, she won’t survive —- but she cannot hear the warning bells clanging in the back of her mind. She does not _care._ How could she care about _anything_ with Nicholas’s hand cupping her jaw, his tongue pressing into her mouth, her gum being sucked out —

Wait. _What?_

Nicholas breaks the kiss with an exaggerated _(gross)_ smack, and takes two large steps back from her. Swollen lips curve up in satisfaction. Just to prove his victory, he munches on the gum open-mouthed.

 _Flushed_ and _disheveled_ are two of the most polite adjectives to describe the queen; _murderous_ would be even more accurate.

“You,” she hisses. “How dare you?”

“How dare _you_ take the last piece?” Nicholas points to the empty pack on the ground, then shrugs — as if to say, _it’s just business._ “You should be more vigilant.”

“That was a set-up. A seduction!”

“Indeed.” He’s still backing away as Mia springs to her feet, making a graceful beeline for the door. Mia isn’t about to let him get that far.

Nicholas sees her coming a second before she pounces. His eyes widen. Suddenly Mia is no longer prey, but predator herself.

They land on the bed in a tangle of limbs, already wrestling each other for some insignificant dominance. One moment, Nicholas has her pinned. The next, she is sitting on his chest, jaw cupped, ready to steal the gum right out of his mouth again. She leans down. Nicholas snaps his teeth at her.

“Whoa!”

“I got this _fair and square!”_

“You tricked me!”

“Fairly!”

“You better give me that gum, Mister, or I’ll —“ She’s cut off when Nicholas’s eyes suddenly bug out. There is no second to process before he launches into a violent coughing fit; one that can mean nothing except a dead Lord Devereaux if Mia fails to get off his chest pronto. She scrambles away, tripping over herself in the process. By the time Nicholas is sitting up, she has a hand on his back, patting him through the worst of it.

As soon as he catches his breath, he looks devastated. “I can’t believe,” he declares, “I swallowed it.”

“Wow,” says Mia. “That’s really unfortunate.”

“You’re mocking me.”

“Indeed,” she mimics in a perfect deadpan, forcing his head in her direction. She catches a brow furrowed in indignation one second before she moves back in.

“Quit pouting,” she mutters against his lips. “You owe me this.”

A lot can be said about Nicholas, but he always pays his debts in full.

The next afternoon, there’s a full summary of the oil agreement sitting on her desk... next to a new pack of gum.

The first thing she does is offer a piece to Nicholas.

**Author's Note:**

> gum stealing crosses SO MANY LINES and is also 200% something Nicholas would do


End file.
